WEDNESDAY—REVERENCE FOR OTHERS

“Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You need only a heart full of grace.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Namaste. That is your meditation for today. Silently greet every person you meet and every animal and plant you encounter with this word. In your imagination, feel yourself performing the gesture that goes with it, as you bow with reverence to the life force, to the “I AM” in front of you.

It’s not weird to be greeting all life forms in this way. Plants are precious—they give us oxygen, herbs, food and a gazillion other things. They have their own life force—some see that life force as a spiritual being. Are you not amazed at how a seed can fall on the ground and, despite all the obstacles it has to overcome, emerge as a gorgeous flower or some nutrition-filled substance for you or animals to eat? When you see a bunch of flowers or a single bloom—try to grasp the amazing powers that went into the bloom being there.

Animals are equally complex. Think of how they live, and survive, despite what humankind is doing to them and their environment. When you see a squirrel or birds downtown, imagine what they have had to do to adapt to concrete jungles, not to mention how they can now eat junk food! (They are not healthy, mind you, but they are eating it to survive for as long as they can.)

Remember, God is in every person you see. The beggar on the street, the janitor, the cab driver, your colleagues, the person who collects your trash, the corporate executive, the gardener or cleaning person or council worker, bus drivers, sales people, cash register clerks—everyone! And most importantly, God is in your family.

Today is a special day for your family! You are going to treat them all as the precious spiritual teachers they are. They give us more opportunities to grow and develop than anyone else ever could.

You may not be the easiest person on the planet to live with, in truth! Be in awe and wonder that they chose you! Be filled with reverence for them and gratitude that they are with you, and willing to stick with you. If they choose not to stick with you, be full of reverence anyway, because their departure may turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to you—no matter how bleak it looks at the moment.

Look for what is inside other people’s hearts—this is their true nature and who they really are. Everyone is an astonishing being of light inside his or her heart. You are blessed to have these people as part of your life. The blessing may not be obvious at this moment but live in joyful, hopeful expectation that you will one day soon see that blessing.

You will be filled with awe and wonder at the magic that happens when you live with, and actively feel and show, reverence and respect for all.

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